After two long days and nights of travelling, arguing, and running, they had finally hit the next town, a small settlement surrounded by forest. Cináed, partway through the trip, had been completely exhausted, and as a result had let his magic fade from his appearance, reverting back to Aella’s form. The only difference (other than the enormous attitude jump) to tell it was really him was the shiny metallic color replacing Aella’s blue-grey irises.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIlNEHPM73
He’d noticed Luna watching him every so often, and she finally said, “Your eyes are strange. Almost like a human’s, only you know, silver… well, I guess it makes sense.” 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxGSSamXuu
“Eh? What makes you say that?” The eyes in question flickered to her as he turned to face her in his saddle.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtTYfZ6GJW
“Weeeeeell, you’re a shapeshifter, so you have to take the thing’s form, right? … Do shifters even have their own form? I mean, why humans…?” She trailed off, looking a bit dazed.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dU5ptkLNO
He was kind of at a loss at her question, but answered anyway. “Uh, yeah. Shifters do have their own forms, in a way… it’s a bitch to explain. They just learn how to look like humans, because most spend the majority of their lives on Earth with humans, y’know?” He shrugged. “And the color, that’s easy. It matches our magic. There’s a lot concentrated there - we rely on sight a lot. Bright light changes whatever eye color we chose to that, ‘cause it’s reflecting off the magic instead. And it usually glows.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZyO8eIzHT
“Ohhhh…” Luna paused, crossing her arms. “I guess it’s kinda like our world. Everyone is like a human, but Fia says that’s because humans accidentally cross the portals and, you know, breeding happens! So unlike this world, and I guess your world, almost everyone has magic, but they don’t have a choice for human form. Oh! But if you don’t have magic, technically some species can transfer parts of their magic! Like witches… and …and some elementals?” She rambled on about the subject, then finally stopped to breathe. 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Rp6TFEmFE
“Huh.” Seeing as he had no experience with their world, he was pretty curious. “Don’t get me wrong, though. The shifter’s dimension is completely made of magic. Everything. Even shifters can’t put up with it for long.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpKtvdKpZx
"Everything?!" she gasped. "That’s so… uh…" She seemed stuck on the word to use, then just gave up and grinned.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXzr7WXVcp
He nodded. “I know.” Redirecting the conversation, he asked, “What’s your world like?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCDSOxQzOgB
She looked up, eyes glazed in thought. “Well, I guess it depends on where you go! My island was more…” She narrowed her eyes, getting stuck on the word again, then shrugged and gave up. Then she smiled again. “But there was a ton of trees and vines and birds and prey! Neoma’s land is pretty neat too, like, it’s in the middle of all the climates, and it’s huge! Not as huge as Fia’s… but it’s in the center of a ton of climates! So their land is full of elements and elementals!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWbOU2spM9
”So does their element depend on where they live, or is it random?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YdJT3fHUB
“Mmhmm!! On the island, anyway!” She paused again. “On Fia’s land its more witches, and fairies, and other things like that… well, fairies are kinda elementals too… Oh!” She continued. “But there’s bigger kinds of creatures, and a few smaller ones!” 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJotjacy5s
”So who’s Fia?” 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycCePIA189
“”She’s our friend and the keeper of portals on our island! She sets up portals and where and when they go places - she’s a witch!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvG4Z8T2uHB
”Huh. You guys need to go see her to get back to your world, then?” he asked, wondering if this witch was at the destination Neoma had been so vague about.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1xIlXfEle
“No, we know the destination to go to! Neoma’s sister, Ee, was messing with the portals and sent us through…”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZMeNoQNiz
He grinned a bit. “Bet a certain bitch wasn’t so happy about that.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tSnX262Fm
”Heard that!” Neoma growled.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNZ42KzSjxz
“Good.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyi0zJr8Ol
She giggled. “She’s going to killlllll her!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvELactYdLP
”Hah, sounds fun.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1jOkonnaMx
”I like Ee, though…” Luna pouted a bit. “Her lap is reeeally warm…”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsc6nY7ZDNQ
He was quiet for a few moments, then abruptly changed the subject. “What about you? You’re a familiar, right?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhGSE3jwcB
She thought for a second, then nodded excitedly. “Yeah! Well, technically, not everyone in my village is a familiar, but almost anything can be a familiar, so…”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlcKeb24vZ
”What’s your village like?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsj50xXuQIj
Luna kicked her legs off the horse, accidentally hitting it once, and patted its shoulder with a mumbled apology. “Well… it was different than this! I mean, there was conflict between the other clan and us, and a little conflict inside it, but they weren’t really accepting of outsiders… no, that’s a lie. As long as you could hunt, you were good…” She gave a short hum, conflicted in her thoughts. “We had a different ranking system!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Xumru36EG
”How?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl06MnBNH4m
”Well, there was the head family, but I guess that’s everywhere… There really wasn’t anything under that, though. The normal population, then the prisoners.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRcPXxgJ0n
”Sounds pretty simple.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCtA1C4916
She nodded. “And the prisoners could become part of our village if they worked it off, or they could choose to go home after they worked enough.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMVvlwY8An
Huh, that was surprising. “You guys would just let them go?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jCzNBE7gs
”Well, the village didn’t like each other, but we weren’t total jackasses - the prisoner could have a family! The amount of work they had to do depended on the crime against the other tribe. If it was something like murder or stealing another tribe’s children, then they probably would be dead when they got back home. Bad leaders were kicked out, too. If they did evil things, then they were evil people, and obviously couldn’t lead correctly. And a corrupted leader makes a corrupted clan.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSMC7Ew6pg
Truest statement he’d heard all day. He nodded. “Doesn’t sound like that bad of a way to live.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyzhj1zdbe
Neoma shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at the two. Luna only nodded happily. “It was!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHx31NmPUcq
”Was?” The shifter looked over at her.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfK8KSZ2Jx7
She bit her lip and nodded. “Was. What’s your home like?!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTGZYpK9Pr
He blinked at the switched topic, then hesitated. “Eh… like I said earlier, shapeshifters pretty much just live here on Earth, so..” He half-shrugged.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBVoTPb4Cp
“There’s a pretty much to that, though,” she prodded, smiling.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBYhVADZG2
”Not all shifters do. I do.” He gave her a flat look, much preferring for her to drop it.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3hEpTjmme
”Oh.” She pouted. “But Earth’s boring!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1C94k4fkD
”In your opinion.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllsyvE4Jsv
”In a lot of people’s opinions!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgTDUtohvI
”Not in mine.” Better than quite a few places he’d seen. (Including the ones by accidental force, but some of those were cool, too.)742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFZbayvLRq
She pouted again, glaring. “Well, your opinion’s stupid.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2F395cElyJ
He raised an eyebrow at her. “I can say the same for yours.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEGLFbiCCN
”Oh really? If you shapeshifted in front of a lot of people in this world, they’d burn you at the stake! In our world, it’s totally normal and accepted!”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfc7VL8yWJ
He started to smirk. “Shapeshifters don’t usually have that problem, though,” he pointed out. “First, we’re practically impossible to corner, and if we are, we can still escape. Second, you can’t burn one of us to death - most wouldn’t burn, period. Hell, I’ve shifted in front of people just for fun. It’s hilarious, they freak out. Sometimes, they pass out.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSUcMwInVP
She had a blank face, then stuck her tongue out and crossed her arms in defeat. He grinned, and she started to giggle.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCecVo2RPm
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* * * * *742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDD1rVp3yoL
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Just before they’d entered the town, Cináed had shifted back out of Aella’s appearance. Now he was back to his reddish-haired form, although tired-looking.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYBYEVPiC2
Neoma had changed her shadow horse to look more normal, which had caused a lot of bucking and protest and had taken a few minutes and calming gestures.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4gq7JdlrS
He looked over at the elemental. “So. What’re we even doing here?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfPc6AG50l
“Well, we’re heading up to a small town. It’s where one of our portals are located.” She looked down, glaring at the ground.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D2QXWdIQV
”We spending any time in this town?” he sighed.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfyYkl2I0W
“Besides getting more food, no.” She looked down at Luna, who was walking around the horse’s feet, nimble enough to not get stepped on. 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt34LFFi6SC
“Good.” Luna paused her playing to look behind them, then darted under the horse again. He glanced at her distractedly, then went back to looking around.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XuTtXpltP
Neoma rolled her eyes, pointing to a store “Stay here okay?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnEMO8Hdas
“Why?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DZey44CjU
“I’m not talking to you, asshat. I’m talking to Luna.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmldXiGsWFm
“Yeah, I know that,” he grumbled, annoyed. “Why’re you leaving her there though?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62KzcOyc9b
“Because we’re going into the store to get food.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGEyKujgK9
He huffed. “Took her last time. Whatever, let’s just hurry.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAgtI6kE4M
“Yeah, yeah.” She jumped off the horse and tied it to the pole, leaving Luna to curl up next to it. He did the same, muttering something under his breath.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLNtrSf54H
Neoma walked quietly into the store, looking at all the foods they had set out. Cináed followed a few steps behind, looking a lot less interested and mostly just glaring at either the floor or Neoma’s head. She didn’t seem to notice, as she was looking over the food. “Pick whatever the fuck looks good.” 742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzQ1Yfvbuf
He gave her an irritated look. “Can’t you pick yourself?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2HHhc0A4c
“‘Course, but you have to eat sometime.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE1NqAVdfRi
“I don’t CARE what I eat,” he complained. “Unlike some people, I’m not picky.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6cNLvdwQo
She scoffed as she began to pick up a few fruits. “Riiiight.”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtV6VnC6Q6G
A short while later, the two had managed to get a decent amount of supply and approached the counter. After showing it all to the shopkeeper, Neoma pushed some shadow money toward him - it was something she had been working on for awhile, and it was finally to her standards. The man didn’t see any difference, at least.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCTbnUQEy3
Outside, Luna was completely immersed in her thoughts until Neoma spoke. “You okay there?”742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlO3nUsqq5r
The familiar jolted up, purring in response, as Cináed quickly untied his horse. Neoma followed suit, and they rode out of the town with Luna trotting ahead.742Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtv1S8LDj3
Penana
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